As spring sports continue to roll on in the month of March, plenty of games, meets, matches, and tournaments are playing out. Here are a few of the most notable numbers from this past week in Crusader sports. As always, we would like to thank our sponsors in helping us produce our daily coverage of the Cru, and as a reminder, be sure to check out our “Cru Calendar” page on the website, updated daily with upcoming games, scores, and notes.
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Hits for Tori Skinner over the final two games of UMHB softball’s weekend series against McMurry in Belton. The left fielder went 3-for-3 with a run scored in the Cru’s 8-0 victory on Friday evening, which marked UMHB’s lone win of the series. She came back on Saturday with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, scoring UMHB’s first run of the contest on Bailey Eggleston’s sacrifice flyout. Now 7-4 overall, and 4-2, Cru softball heads to Marshall, Texas, for a total of six games between March 15-17.
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20+ point NCAA Tournament performances from UMHB men’s basketball’s Ty Prince, who led the way with 33 points in Friday’s Round of 16 loss at Christopher Newport. Prince tallied 25 in last year’s second round win over Trinity (TX) and 27 in the Round of 16 a year ago against Case Western Reserve. His 33 points also marked the second time in program history that a Crusader scored 30 points or more in an NCAA Tournament game. The other is Josiah Johnson, who had 33 in the second round win of last year’s tournament.
5
Different opponents faced by UMHB beach volleyball at its UMHBeach Tournament in Belton this past week, at all three levels of the NCAA in addition to an NAIA. The Cru battled D-I UL-Monroe and D-II Southwest Baptist, and beat both ETBU and Hendrix (D-III), as well as Oklahoma Wesleyan. All three victories were decided by a single point, with UMHB winning three pairings and the opponent taking two. The duos of Avery Mercer/Kendall Jeffers and Katie Warden/Jada Kaye Wilson each recorded three 2-0 sweeps on the weekend. UMHB is now 7-5.
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Straight games having reached base for UMHB baseball’s Hunter Jones. The senior outfielder extended his hitting streak to five games in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio. In the 6-3 loss, Jones went 1-for-3 at the plate with a double, and while his hitting streak was snapped in game two of the day, he did walk in the first inning of UMHB’s 9-1 loss. That extended his on-base streak to six games and he currently leads the Cru with a .472 on-base percentage.
6
Program records broken by UMHB Acrobatics & Tumbling in Thursday night’s home meet against Hawaii Pacific University. The Crusaders were stellar, posting the highest point total in a meet in the program’s four-year history at 268.680. Individually, Kensley Walters broke a school record with a 9.325 in the Six Element pass and Jenna Hall also set a new UMHB record with her 9.300 in the Open pass. UMHB is now 2-1 overall under first-year head coach Raffaela Scotto and heads to the midwest for a pair of meets in the coming week at Adrian College and Trine University.
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Yards for UMHB football alum and current Seattle Sea Dragons (XFL) wide receiver Blake Jackson in Saturday night’s 15-6 win over the San Antonio Brahmas. The 2016 graduate had five receptions in the victory, and currently ranks second in the league behind his teammate Jahcour Pearson in total receptions (23). He is averaging 7.8 yards per reception through four games
